Thoughts

Quite a "unique to me" dish that was wonderfully crisp, filling, and spicy. I made this when a friend of mine was touring SE Asia. Some of the things he posted really made me want to go and experience their food. Alas, this is as close as I have gotten. When I make this recipe again, I will use butter lettuce or cut the romaine into smaller, muffin size chunks so as to serve the food as an appetizer rather than a falling apart burrito. Oh, and a sprinkle of flour to absorb the left over fat after frying the pork cannot go wrong.

Thai Larb Lettuce Cups

Sauce
1 1/2 Tbsp. of sugar
2 Tbsp. of lime juice
3 Thai chilies
2 Tbsp. of fish sauce
1 Tbsp. of water

Filling
1 Tbsp. of oil
4 cloves of garlic, thinly sliced
3/4 lb of ground pork
1 tsp of sugar
1 tsp of fish sauce
1/2 tsp of soy sauce
2 Thai chilies
Salt and pepper to taste
1/4 cup of mint, torn
1/4 cup fo Thai basil, torn
1/4 cup of cilantro, torn
1/4 red onions, thinly sliced
Butterhead lettuce, separated

Combine sauce ingredients in a small bowl, set aside for later.

Heat oil in a sauce pan. Add the sliced garlic and fry until fragrant. Add the ground pork. Use your spatula to break up any clumps. Add the sugar, fish sauce, soy sauce, Thai chilies, salt and pepper. Cook until the pork is done. Add the mint, Thai basil, cilantro and red onions. Toss to incorporate and remove from heat.

Put everything together, take a butterhead lettuce leaf, add a couple spoonfuls of the Thai-style pork and drizzle on the sauce. Feel free to add more basil, red onions, Thai chilies, cilantro or mint as garnish.